Riverkeeper can pursue Act 13 challenge

HARRISBURG - An environmental group can pursue a legal challenge to eminent domain provisions in the state natural gas drilling impact fee law, thanks to a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling.

The highest court drew widespread attention last month when it struck down portions of the impact fee law providing for state oversight of local drilling zoning regulations. Three of the justices in the majority opinion said those provisions conflict with the environmental rights amendment in the state constitution.

The court also found the Delaware Riverkeeper Network has standing to have its eminent domain appeal heard in the lower Commonwealth Court, thereby reversing an earlier ruling by that court.

The network is challenging a provision saying drillers can use eminent domain powers to acquire storage space for natural gas, said Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper. Drillers are interested in underground geological formations for storage space even if that space is underneath private land, she added.

This provision provides for an improper use of eminent domain for a private commercial purpose rather than for a public purpose, said Ms. van Rossum.

"The Supreme Court has said you can't turn a blind eye to this issue," she added.

However, attorneys for the Corbett administration last week asked the court to reconsider its decision and allow Commonwealth Court to develop evidence as to whether the impact fee law violates the environmental rights amendment or not.

"The Supreme Court's decision is a stunning departure from the historical practice of that court, and an unrestrained venture into a fact-finding role that the court always has insisted is not in its proper place in the judicial system," said James D. Schultz, the governor's general counsel.

Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com

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